Bagongon, Christian K.

Bio 35 EDA
Fra-and Timothy S. Quimpo

“Sea Shore Crab”

Scientific Classification
By: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum:Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder:Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura

These pictures were taken last January 31, 2009 at Duka Bay Medina.
Courtesy pictures of Christian K. Bagongon

Common shore crabs are a typical rock pool, or shallow water species. Eating whatever they can
get their claws on, carrion and live prey. They use their strong claws to crack mussel shells and for
fighting.

Crabs
Are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail"
(Greek: βραχύ/brachy = short, ουρά/οura = tail), or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under
the thorax. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a single pair of chelae
(claws). 6,793 species are known.[1] Crabs are found in all of the world's oceans. Additionally, there are
also many freshwater and terrestrial crabs, particularly in tropical regions. Crabs vary in size from the pea
crab, only a few millimetres wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span of up to 4 m.

Habitat
The shore crab is a common coastal species, found in shallow water to depths of around 60m (197ft). It is
also found in estuaries and salt marshes, tolerating a wide range of salinities.

Diet
Crabs are omnivores, feeding primarily on algae, and taking any other food, including molluscs, worms,
other crustaceans, fungi, bacteria and detritus, depending on their availability and the crab species. For
many crabs, a mixed diet of plant and animal matter results in the fastest growth and greatest fitness.

Reproduction
Eggs are carried by the female and fertilized externally by the male. The eggs are released mainly in the
spring, but crabs 'in berry' are present in all months. Young crabs are abundant in June.

Fishery
Crabs make up 20% of all marine crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with over 1½ million tonnes
being consumed annually. Of that total, one species accounts for one fifth: Portunus trituberculatus. Other
important taxa include Portunus pelagicus, several species in the genus Chionoecetes, the Blue crab
(Callinectes sapidus), Charybdis spp., Cancer pagurus, the Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) and Scylla
serrata, each of which provides more than 20,000 tonnes annually